Men’s Tennis Falls 7-2 To Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Defeats College Of The Desert 5-4

Claremont, Calif. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s tennis team kicked off its California training trip with a 7-2 loss at the hands of No. 1 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Tuesday afternoon at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center. A second Gustavus team also played an exhibition match against the College of the Desert in Indian Wells at the same time. The Gusties topped the Roadrunners in that match by way of a tightly contested 5-4 victory.

Against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to start the day, Gustavus grabbed an early 1-0 lead after Amrik Donkena (Sr., Rochester, Minn.) and Mya Smith-Dennis (Jr., Savage, Minn.) defeated Warren Wood and Joe Dorn 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. Wood and Dorn make up the No. 2 ranked doubles team in the West Region according to the most recent ITA Division III rankings. Donkena and Smith-Dennis are ranked No. 1 in the Central Region.

C-M-S used the momentum to take five of six points in singles play. Gustavus’s lone win came by way of a Smith-Dennis victory over Joe Dorn 6-3, 2-6, and 7-5 at the No. 2 spot. Both Leisner and Entwistle were locked in three set battles yet fell in the final frame.

In singles, the Roadrunners took points at the No. 1, 2, and 3. David Brown (Fr., Oakland, Calif.) and Logan Peterson (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) allowed Gustavus two points with wins at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Brown won 6-3, 6-1, and Peterson won 6-2, 6-1. The match, however, would come down to Mitchell Elofson (Fr., St. Peter, Minn.) at No 4. After losing the first set 6-4, Elofson faced defeat down 5-0 in the second. The rookie bounced back to take the second 7-5, then used the momentum to win Gustavus the match with a 10-6 superbreaker win in the third.

At 13-6 overall, the Gustavus men’s tennis team will face the California Institute of Technology and the University of Redlands tomorrow afternoon. One group will travel to Pasadena to face CIT while another will head to Redlands to face the Bulldogs.

One Comment

The Gusties that went to the desert seem to do well in the heat! It is fun to warm up after spending the winter by the ice rinks! Keep those articles coming – we enjoy the fine writing by the Sports Information Staff